George Street: New visuals of £35m Edinburgh street revamp as council bold on cost

The cost of Edinburgh’s most high-profile street upgrade scheme is expected to fall further as the plans take shape, the city council has confidently predicted.

A major revamp of George Street to remove parking and most traffic is now estimated at £35 million compared to nearly £39.5m last September following “more detailed and accurate costings”.

A new visualisation of the completed George Street scheme | City of Edinburgh Council

But council transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said the total was anticipated to reduce again when more precise costs for moving pipes and cables became known.

This is because utility firms had produced high estimates for such work elsewhere, which had been significantly cut, the council said. It is expected to amount to some £8m.

The optimism comes in contrast to major cost overruns and delays to the utility diversion work ahead of tram line construction more than a decade ago. Council officials said the scale of survey work on the George Street scheme gave them added confidence.

Mr Jenkinson said designs for the project - illustrated in these new visuals - were now complete, but several approval stages remained before construction started after the festival in August 2027. Completion is due three years later.

Mr Jenkinson said the revamp would be funded from external sources such as the Scottish Government, and the city’s visitor levy from next year, but it was too early to bid for money.

The scheme, which will be considered by councillors on June 26, will include more space for pedestrians, including seating areas and an improved cycle lane. The latter was omitted from the City Centre West East Link segregated bike lanes opened last year between Roseburn and York Place.

Vehicle access will be restricted to taxis, and delivery vehicles at certain times, with “hostile vehicle mitigation” bollards controlling access at entry points.

Four trees will be planted at both ends of the street, along with “low-level planting” and new drainage.

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Mr Jenkinson said: “A lot of the cost is diverting utilities such as gas, water and power.

“As we go through the process and have much more detailed conversations with the utility companies, I certainly think the costings of the project are more likely to decrease than increase because we’ll have more accurate figures for how much work is involved.

“The costings are going in one direction - and that’s down, not up.

“It’s important that predominantly, the funding will come external from the council. There are various pots of money we will be looking to bid for.

“Council tax payers of Edinburgh won’t directly be funding the development. It’s a unique opportunity to do some quite forward thinking in the centre of the World Heritage Site in one of the most important streets not only in Edinburgh, but Scotland.”

But Mr Jenkinson warned that the council must get it right first time. He said: “I don’t want to be in a position to have to finish the job further down the line. The impact of that would be pretty negative.

“George Street is a car park. Parking will be removed. There will be restrictions on vehicle movement. The details are being worked through, but it will predominantly be pedestrian.”

The council’s Conservative group leader Iain Whyte said: “Assurances that costs will be driven down further are hardly likely to give any reassurance to George Street businesses or Edinburgh taxpayers.

“We all remember the tram utility costs doubled in the original project once digging started. None of this bodes well for George Street and they haven’t tendered to get a price for the works yet.”

A spokesperson for the George Street Association, which represents businesses, said: “It is essential what is done delivers a high-quality outcome consistent with the World Heritage status.

“Cutting corners to reduce costs in the short term will lead to greater disruption and costs down the line.”